Eyebrows were raised at Semple Stadium on Sunday as Billy Nolan, who had been the goalkeeper in Waterford's first three games of this year's Munster Hurling Championship, started outfield against Tipperary.
Nolan, who had been named on the bench with Shaun O'Brien in goal, came into the Waterford defence as sweeper in place of injured fullback Conor Prunty.
Like many inter-county goalkeepers, Nolan plays outfield for his club and also did so for the SETU Waterford side which reached this year's Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon Cup semi-finals.
"He was fantastic," Tipperary great Brendan Cummins told RTÉ Radio 1.
"17 possessions in the first half. He ran the whole show. He was like Tom Brady playing at quarterback. He really set up the play for Waterford."
Donal Óg Cusack, who was a coach with Clare during Davy Fitzgerald's time in charge of the Banner, said the introduction of Nolan "worked a treat".
28 May 2023; Billy Nolan of Waterford in action against Seamus Callanan of Tipperary during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 5 match between Tipperary and Waterford at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
"Maybe people see Davy as a bit mad at times," Cusack said on The Sunday Game.
"There's always a method to his madness. They were under the gun, under huge pressure.
"You could say last year when things were going bad for Waterford at the end of the year they waved the white flag. They did not today. They were going into Thurles to play Tipperary on their home patch, and they stood up.
"The moves that Davy made, putting Billy Nolan in as the sweeper, and also Shaun O'Brien, they worked a treat.
"Credit where credit is due. High level sport is tough. Overall, you could say that Waterford have regressed in the bigger picture.
"You could say Cork have progressed but both of them are going out the same door. Just on today, the Waterford players and Davy deserve credit for that victory."
'Waterford are not bottlers'
Prior to the game, Fitzgerald heard plenty of noise about his decision to start Nolan outfield.
23 April 2023; Aaron Gillane of Limerick is tackled by Conor Prunty and Waterford goalkeeper Billy Nolan during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 1 match between Waterford and Limerick at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
"I was told before the game that I must have been mad playing him there," Fitzgerald told reporters.
"A few people made comments to certain people around our set-up and said, ‘What are ye doing? Is Davy trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat?’ I am in my barney.
"Billy plays centre-back for Roanmore, he plays in that role for WIT. Logically, it made sense to do that and the move worked today. Look at the players we were missing today.
"My God, if people tell me that Waterford are bottlers… Waterford are not bottlers, a 110 per cent, and I think we proved that today.
"Tipp might have been a bit flatter after last week (against Limerick), I don’t know, but we were probably 10-to-12 points better than they were today."
Prunty, Jamie Barron and Austin Gleeson, were all late withdrawals for Waterford on Sunday.
"Conor Prunty had an operation last Monday after the Clare game," explained Fitzgerald.
"He had a bad injury. Jamie Barron tore a quad on Tuesday, and Austin tore one as well on Tuesday.
"It's one of those years where we are getting no break injury-wise. You had three of them. You had Tadhg (De Burca) out with his achilles. You Shane McNulty still out with a broken foot and Mikey Kiely is still suffering since the Cork game.
"We still had a bunch that fought on their backs for their county and they love their county."
See Also: Davy Fitzgerald Irked By 'Disgraceful Crap' He's Heard In Recent Weeks
